Brazil’s Bolsonaro eyes new body for environmental policy

Brazil's Bolsonaro eyes new body for environmental policy | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - In this March 25, 2019 file photo, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil. Bolsonaro's administration is considering a dramatic change in the council that oversees Brazil’s environmental policy, replacing a broad-based group stocked with independent voices with a small group of presidential appointees, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

MADRID – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is considering a dramatic change in the council that oversees Brazil’s environmental policy, replacing a broad-based panel of independent voices with a small group of political appointees, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Activists say they fear the move could lead to more deforestation and less oversight in the nation that holds about 60% of the vast Amazon rainforest.

A policy roadmap drafted by Bolsonaro’s transition team proposes ending Brazil’s National Council of the Environment, which has almost 100 members, including representatives of independent environmental and business groups. The new body would consist of five presidential appointees plus the environment minister.

Brazil’s Environment Ministry did not reply to a request for comment.

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